Getty Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris got resounding approval as a candidate for the Vikings head coach position from Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
While head coach candidates have begun making their interview rounds across the NFL, Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris’ name only recently surfaced.
Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager reported Tuesday that the Minnesota Vikings contacted Morris with an interview request for their head coach position.
Morris’ first request for interview was seemingly long overdue, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport retweeting Schrager’s report, saying, “Bout time.”
That only cracked the lid of bubbling approval across the NFL community of Morris, most notably coming from three-time All-Pro Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
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Ramsey Sounds off on Morris
Ramsey shared Rapoport’s tweet on Tuesday with a message that was in full agreement that Morris deserves the attention he’s finally receiving among the NFL coaching ranks.
Right! Rah the best coach I’ve ever had & I’ve had some GREAT ones! He’s taught me so much more this year alone that’s helped improve my game,” Ramsey tweeted. “If no other team wants to give him the head coaching position he DESERVES, I will personally GLADLY have him back as our DC!”
The Rams defense’s dismantling of the Arizona Cardinals in a 34-11 victory in the NFC Wild Card round on Monday likely garnered Morris some interest around the league. Los Angeles picked off Kyler Murray twice and held the Cardinals offense to just 40 total yards as the Rams raced to a 21-point lead at halftime. Murray finished the game with just 137 passing yards and a 40.9 quarterback rating, while Arizona’s running game was held to just 3.4 yards per tote.
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Super Bowl Pedigree
Morris started his coaching career as a defensive assistant for the 2002 Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He landed his first defensive coordinator job at Kansas State, where he helped the Wildcats improve defensively and upset No. 4-ranked Texas during the 2006 season.
Returning to the Buccaneers as the defensive backs coach, Morris helped transform previously 4-12 Tampa Bay’s passing defense, which ranked 19th in 2006, into the NFL’s top unit in 2007. The Buccaneers made the playoffs that year with a 9-7 record.
Morris was poised for a promotion to defensive coordinator but unexpectedly made a jump to head coach at the ripe age of 32 after Jon Gruden was abruptly fired in January 2009. The Buccaneers went 3-13 in Morris’ first season but bounced back with a 10-6 record in 2010. It was the best turnaround in franchise history as Morris became the first coach since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to start at least 10 rookies in a season and end with a winning record, per The Pewter Report. Six rookies started on defense that year, including two at cornerback and one at safety.
The following season, Morris seemingly lost the team after giving second-year defensive tackle Brian Price a public tongue-lashing after Price punched a Carolina Panthers player during a 38-19 loss. Tampa Bay lost 10 games straight in 2010 to finish with a 4-12 record, which led to Morris being fired.
He took a job as Washington’s defensive backs coach before joining the Atlanta Falcons, taking on roles as an assistant coach and wide receivers coach. Morris helped the Falcons on their run to the 2016 Super Bowl, which they never seemed to recover from after the New England Patriots’ infamous comeback from a 28-3 deficit.
Morris was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2020 and took over as interim head coach after Dan Quinn was fired following an 0-5 start that season. The game after Quinn was fired, the Morris-led Falcons played inspired, romping the Vikings in a 40-23.
Since Morris’ first stint as a head coach, he’s coached on both sides of the ball and appears more prepared to lead a team as a head coach at the age of 45, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio asserted on Tuesday after learning of the Vikings’ interview request.
“I don’t think it should count against him that he previously had a head coaching job, and it didn’t work out,” Florio said, adding that Bill Belicheck was fired from his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns. “You learn a lesson. You learn what not to do. It’s part of your broader experience. … If anybody’s ready to make the next step, it’s (Morris).”